STEP 1

Slice mushrooms into neat, thin slices.

STEP 2

Toss cooked pasta with sauce and mushrooms.

STEP 3

Use tongs to place pasta on the fancy plate, taking care not to grab too much pasta. Turn the plate with your other hand as you place the pasta onto the dish. This will make that nice twirly effect you get at restaurants.

STEP 4

Place mushrooms over the pasta, in a neat and spaced out manner. Alternate the mushrooms so that some are turned in and some are turned out. You don’t want to leave your guests wondering if that brown lump is a buah keluak or not, says John.

STEP 5

Add a sprig of parsley to garnish the dish, but don’t put too much or it will be overkill.

STEP 6

Wipe up any tell-tale sauce marks on the plate and you’re ready to serve.

STEP 5

STEP 6

John is a guy who loves his food, and is more than happy to tell you about it. “Especially chicken wings,” he says with glee. “My mom calls me Chicken King.” As one of Singapore’s top food stylists, John has worked with big brands like Swensen’s, Wendy’s and Pizza Hut to style their food for product photo shoots.

“People think that food styling is easy, but it can get tiring because it’s a really meticulous task,” says John. “Once, I did a shoot dealing with raw chicken in Vietnam for 25 hours straight, and after that I didn’t want to eat chicken for a month. And I love chicken!”

The Indonesian Chinese food stylist is also a private chef, and counts French and Indonesian cuisine as his specialities. We hear he’s looking for food styling interns, so drop him an email if you’re interested.